The present invention relates generally to multiprocessor systems in which multiple processors are connected to a common system bus for exchanging data, and more specifically to fault location in a multi-processor system.
Conventional fault location techniques for multiprocessor systems involve detection of errors by a source processor in an output signal at the entry point of a common system bus and detection of eror by a destination processor in an input signal entering to it from the system bus. However, the current techniques are not capable of identifying the location of a fault if it occurs in such portions of the multiprocessor system such as the bus driver of a source processor, the bus receiver of a destination processor and the system bus. In addition, a single data error caused by a failure in a given point of the system may often be multiplied as the data is handled by a number of processors and detected by such processors at different times. Such multiple detections, however, make it extremely difficult to identify the fault location and eventually cause a system failure.